He is doing ok--and much better than when he started. I've had him on a special home cooked diet and he has lost about 12 pounds, so there is much less weight on his legs (he needed the weight loss! -- has gone from 100 pounds to about 88). He is off painkillers altogether, and the muscle mass is much better in his leg. He has no limp when he walks -- but not completely stable when he tries to trot or run. The doctor said he will never be 100%. He is still getting laser, acupuncture and passive exercise. I'm icing his leg every day and watching him closely when he's out in the yard -- most of the time on a leash. He has 6 more sessions to go. Just waiting for the scar tissue to stabilize his leg enough to run without pain.

Thank you so much for asking. As I see it, he's not out of the woods yet -- but I'm glad I didn't choose surgery. Too many risks for me..

Glad to hear that Eddie is doing better. My Golden Girl, Smooch, had TPLO surgery at the age of 10 and recovered very nicely and easily. Unfortunately, we had to put her to sleep 2 months before she was 12, due to cancer.

Surgery is still an option if it looks like its the only way...will wait to see how he's doing in a couple more weeks. Really worried about the incidence of osteosarcoma at the fracture site. Plus the last time he had metal inserted it was a nightmare -- he developed a MRSA staph infection and the metal had to be removed. Took months to get rid of it.. Not saying that surgery is out of the question --but I want to exhaust all other options first.

Thanks so much for your comments on this. I read everything, and weight very carefully...Will keep you posted over the next few weeks..

Surgery is still an option if it looks like its the only way...will wait to see how he's doing in a couple more weeks. Really worried about the incidence of osteosarcoma at the fracture site. Plus the last time he had metal inserted it was a nightmare -- he developed a MRSA staph infection and the metal had to be removed. Took months to get rid of it.. Not saying that surgery is out of the question --but I want to exhaust all other options first.

Thanks so much for your comments. I read everything, and weigh very carefully...Will keep you posted over the next few weeks..

UPDATE ON EDDIE AND HIS TORN CRUCIATE: So it turns out that about 10 weeks into the conservative management I stopped being so vigilant in keeping him quiet -- and one afternoon he tore his cruciate clean through (before, it was a 2+ rupture). This time he could hardly walk and when he did, it looked terribly painful and slow -- hobbling.

So I decided to bite the bullet and have the TPLO surgery done. I was a nervous wreck -- reading all the horror stories on the internet with possibility for infection or worse. But I felt that this time, we had no choice.

He is now 5 days post op, and the jury is still out. On heavy pain meds, but toe touches and sometimes bears weight on potty breaks. Either I or my husband are with him 24/7 -- we never leave him alone. He gets his sutures removed in 9 days -- so will know more at that point.

I want to thank everyone for their support and advice in the months leading up to this. It is going to be a long road --but if he will be able to run and play again, it will have been worth it..

He will be able to play and run again. TPLO's have a very good rate of success and the recovery period tends to be shorter than with some other surgeries (we did the extracapsular suture procedure with Spip the Lab three years ago and the recovery was very long but fruitful). If he is toe-touching, it is a good thing.

I know you have probably been given a complete protocol to follow by your surgeon but the most important thing in the early days is the no slipping, no running, no jumping, no strain of any kind. Slow and steady will do the trick; he will think he can do more than he should very shortly and that's when you will have to stay vigilant.

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